ANSWER : There are so many people that have influenced me and who I look up to but if I could name five (in no particular order) it would be, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, Kevin Williamson, Todd Farmer and Tyler Mane .
QUESTION : Can you name an award you would like to win for your work ?
ANSWER : Honestly I would like to win one award, any award for my work at some point in my career, I would love to win an award at Sundance Film Festival, I would like to win an Oscar for anything outside the horror genre, more then an award I would like the respect of my peers and my fans as well.
QUESTION : How do you feel when some calls you weird, odd, strange etc. ??
ANSWER : Early on in the process of establishing myself in the indie film world on social media and the internet I thought a lot about what people think of me and what I'm trying to do but now that I have the first movie out and I know I can make movies I don't really care too much about it because it's the opinion of a select few who don't get me or understand what it is I'm trying to accomplish, people are going to throw names around and that's their right to do that, being 100% honest there are times when I think it's weird that I sit in my office and think about creative ways to kill people all day then I think there's really nothing wrong with THINKING that way it becomes wrong when you act on the thought .
QUESTION : If you weren't making horror movie for a living what would you be doing ?
ANSWER : The same thing I was doing before I started working in the indie film world, working a dead end job spending my days wishing I could take a leap of faith and just take a chance at making my dream come true.
QUESTION : What's your favorite color and why ?
ANSWER : Purple because it's such a beautiful color that can be worn in many different forms, shirts, ties, socks pants, hats, jackets.
QUESTION : Who is your celebrity crush ?
ANSWER : Scout Compton is my celebrity crush, she is my reigning Women Crush Wednesday for over two years now, she's smart, funny, kind, always makes time for her fans and is very interactive on social media and she's an amazing actress, I would love to work with her some day .
QUESTION : What do you say to people when they tell you they want to make a movie one day ?
ANSWER : Go for it ! You can do anything you set your mind to and never let anyone tell you "you're not good enough" or that "you can't do it" because as my friend / business associate / partner in film Chris Fyfe says "Can't Never Could Do Nothin" .
QUESTION : How do you feel you represent the horror genre ?
ANSWER : I will answer this in two ways, I feel that I represent the horror genre in many ways, I wear horror jewelry with pride, I have a Jason mask pendent and ring as well as a Freddy glove pendent I wear daily as well as a fear clinic bracelet I wear. I represent the genre in my work as well by making as many references in my films as possible to other films, actors, actresses, characters, places. This practice may be annoying for some people and might be totally lost on other fans but it's my way of honoring the people who have effected my life in more ways then I can count and I pay respect to them for helping molding me into the creative mind I am today . I also feel that I represent the horror genre in a positive way for people who aren't horror fans to possibly give our genre a chance if they are into a good old fashioned murder mystery or a crime story.
QUESTION : How do your parents feel about you making these types of films ?
ANSWER : My father passed away in 2004 but he was a huge horror fan so I think he would be proud of me for following my dreams, my mother is another story while I think on some level she's very proud of me I also think she keeps it hidden from her friends because my wife is a God Fearing woman and a church goer and she doesn't like the subject matter of Rise of Mortis but like I said she's proud that her baby boy is a film maker, while she's a fan of her son she's not a fan of horror movies and she's going to be less of a fan of the subject matter when Vengeance goes out in October.
QUESTION : Do you look at horror movies as a business or is it just for fun with you ?
ANSWER : Both, I know the point of making a movie is to make money from it but I also want it to be fun at the same time, trust me when I say when we are planning things out we look at the cost of everything and count every penny. Money is important to the growth of Wicked Carnival Productions and the future of upcoming projects depends on the success of Sins of Man II : Vengeance, I admit that. but the fun comes in that I want going to work on set to be fun for everyone involved we joke and laugh and hang out between scenes and during set up but when it's time to call action we are all business . I had a blast making Rise of Mortis and look to continue having fun with Vengeance but also want to make money on the film so I can continue to make movies for all the horror fans worldwide .
QUESTION : Are you worried that you will run out of ideas like Hollywood ?
ANSWER : I laughed at this question because it's really funny that people think Hollywood has run out of ideas, it's not that they have run out of them it's that they have figured out which ideas produce results, think about it for a moment. Halloween was the first slasher to hit it big in 1978, in 1980 Friday The 13th ripped them off and made a ton of money, right ? Sean S. Cunningham has stated that he did it on purpose he saw that Halloween was successful and he wanted in on it so Friday The 13th was made and they never looked back ! Now that's how Hollywood works, I think it's a different story for an indie film maker like myself because we have more creative control over our work because for the most part we write, direct, produce and star in our own projects Hollywood has too many cooks in the kitchen, now after that long winded response no I don't worry about running out of ideas for scripts.
QUESTION : At this stage in your career where do you see yourself in five years ?
ANSWER : Well I have been doing this for about three years now so in five years I will be in it 8 years so I will hopefully be in my own office space with a sound studio of my own where I can create my own work and have my core group of associates all in one location for work. I see myself continuing to release movies weather they are horror or not .
QUESTION : What do you think you will be remembered for ?
ANSWER : I would like to be remembered in the film industry as some one who never quit and even when facing an impossible task I kept pushing forward to reach my goals, to my friends and family I want to be remembered as a good man, a good father, husband and friend.
STAY HUMBLE, STAY HUNGRY MY FRIENDS :)